NEW YORK – Assemblymember Aravella Simotas, Senator Diane Savino, advocates and families called on the legislature to pass their bill (A2646a/S3148a), the Fair Access to Fertility Treatment Act, which requires health insurance policies to provide coverage for in vitro fertilization and fertility preservation treatments.
In addition, the bill repeals discriminatory restrictions for coverage that are based on age, disability, medical dependency or personal characteristics such as marital status or sexual orientation.
“When people struggle with infertility they are dealing with a heart-breaking medical condition. So it is unconscionable that in-vitro fertilization, which is the gold standard of treatment, is so expensive that it’s out-of-reach for couples wanting to have children. It’s time to give people the benefit of the best treatments available when they want to have a family, without discriminating on the basis of marital status, sexual orientation or other personal characteristics,” said Assemblymember Simotas.
“For many women, fertility treatment is the only way to achieve and sustain a pregnancy. In-vitro fertilization is widely recognized as the safest and most effective method; however New York lags behind many other states that require insurers to cover such treatment. It is time to pass this important bill so that women have affordable access to this procedure,” said Senator Savino.
“Statistics show that one in eight individuals or couples have trouble getting pregnant or sustaining a pregnancy. Infertility does not discriminate – it cuts across socioeconomic levels, and all racial, ethnic and religious lines,” said Barbara Collura, President/CEO, RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association. “RESOLVE urges New York legislators to pass the Fair Access to Fertility Treatment Act (FAFTA), which would update the current infertility insurance law in New York state to include coverage of IVF, fertility preservation for cancer patients, and adds non-discrimination language to ensure that all eligible individuals can receive coverage,” Collurasaid.
Dr. Robert Kiltz, founder and director of CNY Fertility Center said, “Over many years I’ve personally delivered hundreds of babies. Two things I know, one the immense joy and happiness a new mom or dad has when there has been infertility and now they have their new baby. Second, over these years there has been a huge improvement in the science of helping bring a new baby into the world for people who have the disease of infertility or have to have treatments for cancer and other diseases that can destroy their fertility. I know firsthand that modern up to date treatments make a big difference, people have babies they couldn’t otherwise have, I urge New York legislators to pass legislation to update New York’s decade’s old law on infertility treatment and require health insurers to offer it.”
The CNY Fertility Center has been open for 20 years, with locations in Albany, Rochester, Syracuse, Buffalo and has delivered over 10,000 babies.
It is estimated that one in eight individuals or couples have trouble getting pregnant or sustaining a full-term pregnancy. Yet nearly half of individuals affected by infertility lack insurance coverage for the necessary treatment. Compared to other treatments presently covered under New York state law, in-vitro fertilization results in fewer pregnancy complications and fewer high-risk births.
“This legislation has the potential to save millions of dollars in long-term health care costs, since patients would no longer be forced to rely on higher risk medical procedures,” Simotas noted.
The bill also provides a clear definition of infertility as a disease characterized by the incapacity to impregnate or the incapacity to conceive, as diagnosed by a physician or the failure to establish a clinical pregnancy after 12 months of regular, unprotected sexual intercourse.
The law would also mandate coverage for fertility preservation services for cancer patients and others whose necessary medical treatments, such as surgery, radiation and chemotherapy damage reproductive health.
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